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'59 Beetle
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gotpatina
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 9:10 am    Post subject: '59 Beetle Reply with quote

New member here and just wanted to introduce my new project. It's a '59 Beetle that has had the floor pans replaced and a new paint job. Interior is in pieces and needs put back together. It runs rough (needs ignition timed and tune up) but was able to drive on and off the trailer I hauled it on. Brakes need some attention too as they are sticking. The chassis wiring needs to be gone over as well. Basically a lot of little odds and ends to take care of.

Plans include:
-get it running/driving nicely
-lower it (not too aggressive)
-drive and enjoy it
-potentially build a bigger displacement engine down the road

Looking forward to gleaning knowledge from this board and joining the air-cooled VW community!

Here are some pictures:
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stale air
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 5:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey there, welcome to the samba. Looks like you have yourself a nice driver with tons of potential. Did you buy it as is or have you been doing all the work on it?
Hey, I did notice that you have some interesting things on the car that kinda make me think that it might be a 60 model year and not a 59. Just out of curiosity what's the vin # on it?

Keep us posted on you progress. Cool
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gotpatina
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I purchased the car as you see it. The previous owner had the body work done but got tired of the project.

VIN: 2734586
According to the VIN decoder on this site it is a '59??

What do you notice that makes it look like a '60?

*EDIT* I should have mentioned...it is a euro model, having semaphore turn signals (maybe other things I am not aware of).
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stale air
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

gotpatina wrote:
I purchased the car as you see it. The previous owner had the body work done but got tired of the project.

VIN: 2734586
According to the VIN decoder on this site it is a '59??

What do you notice that makes it look like a '60?

*EDIT* I should have mentioned...it is a euro model, having semaphore turn signals (maybe other things I am not aware of).


Ok, well I didnt see the semi's, so being a Euro indeed makes it a 59 then. If it where a US spec vehicle then it would have made it a 60 model year. Cool
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gotpatina
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 12:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

stale air wrote:
If it where a US spec vehicle then it would have made it a 60 model year. Cool

Gotcha!
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Trayle D. the real oggfk
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 4:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

guys, 1960 cars still had semaphores on Euro models. The vin you provided makes your car a 1960 model year car made Sept. of 1959. Remember VW went to the US style production calender in 1955. The calender year for "model year" start in August.

The obvious things the set your car apart from a 1959 are the door handles, the steering wheel and steering column. 1960 was the first year for the dished wheel/short column(and obviously the turn signal switch too) and push botton door handles. There are other changes but those are the obvious give aways. Anytime you see a car with small tail lights and push button doors, you should assume 60-61. Then you need to look under the hood to see which it is IE: tall tank(56-60) or flat tank(61 had a one year only tank, flat with no sending unit). Assuming of course we are talking about an unmolested car. You can tell by the dash between a 60-61 also. 60 has early style pointed pot metal dash moldings and 61 was the first year for the stamped aluminum bright anodized moldings.

By the way, sweet little car.
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PULPO
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow, I feel like I just out of school. Shocked
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stale air
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trayle D. the real oggfk wrote:
guys, 1960 cars still had semaphores on Euro models. The vin you provided makes your car a 1960 model year car made Sept. of 1959. Remember VW went to the US style production calender in 1955. The calender year for "model year" start in August.

The obvious things the set your car apart from a 1959 are the door handles, the steering wheel and steering column. 1960 was the first year for the dished wheel/short column(and obviously the turn signal switch too) and push botton door handles. There are other changes but those are the obvious give aways. Anytime you see a car with small tail lights and push button doors, you should assume 60-61. Then you need to look under the hood to see which it is IE: tall tank(56-60) or flat tank(61 had a one year only tank, flat with no sending unit). Assuming of course we are talking about an unmolested car. You can tell by the dash between a 60-61 also. 60 has early style pointed pot metal dash moldings and 61 was the first year for the stamped aluminum bright anodized moldings.


By the way, sweet little car.


Yep, your 100% correct trayle, I forgot about euro 60's still having semi's. Gotpatina, just for the heck of it take a look at the vin tag under the hood. To the right of where it says "baujahr" is there a date embossed in the box?
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air_cooled75
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 6:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nice buy!! im in columbia so i must be close. if you ever need a hand let me know Very Happy Very Happy
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gotpatina
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the clarification on the model year. I checked the VIN tag and it does indeed say 1960. The title says it's a '59, so I guess there was confusion at some point regarding the year manufactured vs. model year?? Also, the previous owner said it has a '61 engine, and that checks out by the engine serial #. Took some time going over the car this weekend and sorted through the parts that came with it. Since I'm new to the Beetles, I will need to find some pictures (or a service manual) of what things are supposed to look like as a lot of the interior, engine compartment, trunk are taken apart. Also need to figure out the proper setup for the carb (28 PICT) and how the semaphores work...among many other things Very Happy

VIN plate:
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Engine serial #:
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gotpatina
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 8:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Couple questions...

The headliner needs to be replaced. The previous owner started this endeavor, but didn't finish it. From what I've found, this job can be quite a headache. Also, as you can see, the windows are already installed. Will this prevent me from properly installing the headliner?
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I have a number of strips of vinyl with molding on one side. It appears as though these go along the b-pillars. Is this correct? Does someone have a diagram or photo of how to put in all the interior coverings from the b-pillar to the rear of the car?
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Also, what is this knob on the dash? Is it for the choke? (this car has an engine w/ an auto choke...so if it is, I don't need it)
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Steve.
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 12:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

On my old '59, that was the maual choke.
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The windows will need to be removed to properly install the headliner.
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Trayle D. the real oggfk
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

oldeskool65 wrote:
On my old '59, that was the maual choke.


Correct, that is the manual choke location on 58-60
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 7:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

can't see the pics. glad to hear of another enthusiats here in PA. decent scene out here. try to make it to the all aircooled gathering in mid sept!

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jwold
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pull the side windows, the headliner isn't all that hard, but does take time and patience. Jbugs has a good video that walks you through the process. Use a heat gun or hair dryer, and accept no wrinkles! It really can be totally smooth.
Awesome project.
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gotpatina
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 9:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hmm, ok was hoping I wouldn't have to pull the glass but I guess I'll have to.

Question: Could someone post a picture of inside the front hood/back of the dash of their ~'60 Beetle? The current wiring in this car is strewn all over the place in there and I want to see what it's supposed to look like/where to mount the fuse blocks. Thanks!
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wayne1230cars
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PostPosted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 9:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Other than the new WW turn signal relay and some new speaker wire from the radio, this is pretty much original.[img]
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[/img]
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gotpatina
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 8:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks wayne1230cars, that is helpful.

Made some progress on the car yesterday sorting out the chassis wiring. Turns out the PO decided to put a 12V headlight in instead of 6V, no wonder only one worked. Also need to buy some misc bulbs etc to get tail/parking lights working. Brake light circuit is also not hooked up. Charged up the battery and ran the car for a little, the PO also had the #1 and #2 spark plug wires switched which explains the rough running, haha. It def needs a tuneup but I was encouraged by the way it sounded. I will eventually be doing a full tuneup/valve adj. With it running, I drove it out of the garage and turned it around in the driveway. Turns out it has no brakes, so they def need attention, thankfully the e-brake works well.
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 12:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Best of luck on the restoration. Get those brakes perfect for sure. The electrical glitches can be frustrating but use the wiring diagram in the technical section and be very thorough with cleaning connections and getting good grounds. Although you can't really tell it from the pics, I undid each connecting point and cleaned. I removed the fuse blocks and cleaned them up. There were places where I was having substantial voltage drop and by going through the system I got it down to minimal drop.
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